And Baby Makes Three (or More)

For many people out there, their dog is their first "baby." For some, this may be their only "baby" if the owner is not having children in their dog's lifetime or has children that have grown up. My own dogs were my first "children" and I can tell you that it is very very difficult to add a human baby to the mix without some upset on the previous family dynamics. Thankfully, I did quite a bit of work to get our family ready for our first baby and while I did encounter some serious problems with my dogs and children, those problems did not occur till my baby was no longer a baby (past her first birthday). Bringing home a new baby is going to affect the parents, the pets and the baby. Therefore, you have three different parties to prepare for this new life. While no one can foresee exactly how daily life will play out with a new baby, there are things that are going to be set in stone that can be practiced and prepared for. Dogs I got all my baby equipment as soon as possible so my dogs could get used to it. They needed to not be fearful of the stroller, swing, crib, bouncy seat etc. I also wanted them to know those things were not toys. A little dog will need to learn that the bouncy seat or plush floor tummy mat is not hers to lay on! I even went as far as getting a baby doll and placing it in the equipment, teaching my dogs to heel next to the stroller with the baby in it and cooed and fawned over this plastic doll in the rocking chair, on the couch and carried it around. To desensitize them to crying, I played youtube videos of infants crying and gave them treats (open bar) while the crying occurred so they would not be stressed over crying. For fun, I even taught them to fetch a diaper on command! When my daughter was born, we had a good friend take our dogs for a few days while we were in the hospital and while we got settled at home for a day. I didn't want to be worried about the dogs on my first day home with my new baby. When the dogs did come home, I made sure to greet them away from the baby and give them lots of attention. Then we let them sniff our daughter in her carseat while she slept. I still remember feeling incredibly tense as my female dog Lucy pretended the baby didn't exist, and my male dog Lex, was tight as a bow string and I thought he might perceive her as prey. Turns out he was just ecstatic over her and became quickly obsessed about her whereabouts and wanted to not be out of her sight. People As hard as it is to imagine, try to imagine what your daily life will be like after baby. Will your spouse take over dog walking and feeding? Will you only give the dog fetch time in the evening after dinner? Will the dog no longer be allowed in the bedrooms and be sequestered to one end of your home? Give yourself a month or more before the birth of your child to start enacting the new routine so the arrival of the baby will not be to blame (in the dog's mind). It is better to ease into the transition of a new routine before you are flustered with a newborn as well! Newborns are a lot of work, yet not in a weird way. They require quite a few feedings in a 24 hour period, but they sleep a lot. I found myself with free time (but a baby on my chest) in which I would toss toys down the hall for the dogs. I pre-stocked my freezer with stuffed Kongs, bought a few new maze toys and bones that I could offer them during lazy days. Once I felt better, I learned how to use my baby carrier (like Ergo or Becco) and realized how transportable my baby was, thus enabling me to walk the dogs or get chores done. Baby How on earth can you prepare a fetus for dogs you ask? Well, I like to think that because of my daughter's exposure to flyball tournaments and practices as well as dog training sessions, that she got used to barking in the womb! To this day she will not wake if dog's are barking, yet my son (who was not exposed to random barking in the womb), wakes up at any barking. Once the baby is born, you can start his/her life with your dogs by simply not forcing a relationship with them. It is very tempting and unfortunately encouraged, to get the baby around the dogs. I can't tell you how many pictures I have of my sleeping daughter with a dog on a blanket with her, her feeding dogs snacks, her playing with their toys, crawling in their crates, petting them. I wanted her to be gentle with dogs, love dogs from an early start and while I did succeed in teaching her to be gentle, I also taught her to be drawn to dogs and teaching a toddler to play with dogs is NOT a good thing. As she got older, the dogs became uncomfortable with her advances (that is another story, and is on the blog under Lex etc.). However, knowing all this with my second child, I never pushed any interactions with dogs. I don't have a single picture of him sitting with a dog, touching a dog, feeding a dog and I can tell you that my dog Lucy, is very very happy that she can be in the same room with us without my son bothering her one bit. For more information on dogs and kids and "demagnetizing" children toward dogs, see this website; http://www.dogsandbabieslearning.com/2011/01/24/mamas-dont-let-your-babi...

Ignoring Commands

There comes a time in pretty much every dog's life that he will not take a given command. The reasons for this are numerous, ranging from just an age related phase, not adequate training, fear, or just simple distraction issues. The first step a frustrated owner should take is to try to assess WHY their dog is not taking a command, as the solution differs for each reason. Age Just like human babies, puppies go through quite a few learning stages. For example, puppies have an ideal socialization "window" before 12 weeks of age where they are very accepting of new places, people, sounds etc. After 12 weeks of age, pups become more aware and skeptical of their surroundings and socialization doesn't come as easily. Pups also go through several fear phases where they are suddenly frightened of things that didn't bug them before! When adolescence approaches, many pups go through a period of rebellion. Usually this is when a pup that was well trained seems to not have any training at all! This stage occurs most often between 6 and 18 months. What is going on? For dogs that are not altered, this is the time of sexual maturation and the hormones and drive that go along with that create a dog that is less inclined to listen to his owner. Even altered dogs are going to have attention issues because there is a whole world out there that he has just discovered! Follow instinct is now gone and most pups no longer have the desire to stick near their owner when there is action going on. The solution to this issue is to go back a little bit with training. Be sure to proof commands in order of less distracting environments first (house, yard, front yard, neighborhood, empty park, slightly busy park, friend's house, dog park). If your dog cannot listen to your command in the backyard, he surely cannot listen at the dog park! During this time you may have to use high value treats, start incorporating play-training, and even take a look at a "Nothing In Life is Free" protocol. Not Fully Trained Some dogs aren't listening simply because their owners have a misunderstanding of how well they trained their dog. If the dog has a so/so recall in the yard, expecting him to come at the park is just silly. Humans feel embarrassed and tend to ask too much of their dog when in public places (such as the park, pet store, vet or groom shop). Getting frustrated that their dog won't sit at the vet when he has to be told and lured at home is the owner setting the dog up for failure. The solution is to simply not ask the dog to things he is not capable of doing and go back and do more training! Fear Every dog is going to have a fear of something or someone in their life. Dogs are not very obedient when afraid, and for good reason! They are worried about themselves and there are chemical reactions and bio-feedback going in in their brain that makes it extremely difficult to listen to what the human is saying. During a small fearful event such as visiting the vet, the best solution is to just be comforting and understanding. Don't ask your dog to sit, stay etc. when he is terrified of anything, and do not force a position especially! If the fear is an ongoing thing of something that is a regular occurrence, seek training help to start a counter-conditioning and desensitizing program. Distraction Distraction goes back to a dog that doesn't have adequate training. I hear all the time from clients, things like, "My dog listens great, till he sees a squirrel!" My reply usually is that my dogs don't have issues with squirrels or prey animals or food dropped because I worked on it. I systemically worked up to each distraction level with each command essentially. Distractions can be objects, people, animals and even environments. To work on distractions, start with something like can my dog sit in the kitchen with no distraction? Yes, then move onto asking for a sit in the kitchen with people milling about, family members talking, eating, throwing a toy to each other. Move out into the yard and start over with minimal distractions and work up again. Do the same in each new environment. When you add an aspect, you must go back a little in another area, meaning if your dog can sit in the most distracting environment you can think of, don't suddenly switch gears to asking for a down stay in that same environment if you haven't worked on the down stay in the lower distraction scenarios first. Pain Lastly, there are times a dog doesn't listen because he is in pain and the owner is not aware. This can obviously happen at any age, but senior dogs are more likely to have pain related to unseen issues like arthritis. My own dog refused to hold a down on hard surfaces for about a month and I was pressuring her and working on it till I realized she will hold a down for a long time on any soft surface. When it occurred to me that she was around 7 years old, it was winter and her joints were bugging her, I put her on some joint medication, gave her a little break and she was back to holding downs on any surface. Listen to what your dog is telling you! A well trained older dog proofed with distractions that isn't showing fear, most likely has a very good reason for not complying with a command. So remember, dogs don't just "blow you off" for no reason. Find the reason and remedy it, and your dog will be back to listening in no time (or as much time as it takes to fix)!

Ignoring Unwanted Behavior

My dad's dog, Harley, has a behavior that drives me nuts. He likes to scratch on the door and/or bark when he wants to be let in. He is so large and powerful that the last door he did this to was knocked off alignment and he destroys screens with one swipe of the paw. Unfortunately Harley has been reinforced for 13 years by being let in when he does this because no one likes a barking dog nor a dog that destroys screens. However, this has taught smart Harley that doing this behavior gets him what he wants. Seeing as I am home most of the day spending time with my kids in the room that has the sliding glass door where he likes to stand, Harley does this quite a bit. At first, I was taking my Dad's lead and telling him to "go lie-down" meanwhile gesticulating his lie-down hand signal. This was not working. I progressed with frustration to yelling "No!" and I thought I was getting results. All other adults in the household did the same thing. We were consistent in the corrections, so I believed our lack of fast response time in changing his behavior was due to 13 years of him being reinforced. That is until one day I finally remembered that I am a dog trainer and my dad is not! What would I do if this were a client's dog? I would tell the client to ignore their dog and not give him any attention because negative attention is still attention. So I conducted an experiment. I looked at the digital clock in the room when he began his barking scratching game again and verbally corrected him each and every time. It took him 5 minutes before he left, which he only left for about 20 seconds before he started another round of annoying behavior at the door! Again and again I noted how long it took and how long he left for and the results were very even. Then about the 5th round I did something different, I ignored him. I refused to make eye contact with him and you know what? He left after 1.5 minutes! And he left for 25 minutes before coming back! The next few days I noticed ignoring made him leave quickly and made him not come back for a while. The next part of fixing the behavior was to make sure he was only allowed inside when he wasn't being obnoxious at the door. For the most part, everyone followed that rule easily, until my husband had a few mishaps and let him in over the weekend and few times because he either forgot about re-training him or he just felt bad for him because all Harley really wants is to go lie on his couch. His love for his couch is so strong that Harley doesn't find being outside very rewarding in itself. He doesn't want to chase critters or lay in the sun or do any of the things Lucy enjoys outside. I am sure his aching bones hurt and getting up and down from the ground or even a dog bed is difficult for him. It is actually easier for him to navigate up and off the couch because of his size. I wish I could make the outdoors more rewarding for him, it would make fixing this behavior issue easier. I can't really re-direct him to do a command incompatible with scratching on the door because he can't get into any positions easily in his old age. Sit is near impossible, I don't think he could manage a back-up and I wouldn't ask him to down on the brick outside the door. It is very very difficult to ignore a behavior you don't like. It is human nature to want to fix things right away and be proactive. It is hard to not give in sometimes as well and make excuses that he is old, he just wants his couch etc. BUT he needs to be outside sometimes when there are guests over or my baby is on the floor and he is underfoot, or when he needs to potty and eat and get some sunshine. I've only been working on this with him for about a week and already I am seeing great results. Great results with a 13 year old dog that hasn't been training in a very very long time! Also, I am not using treats or any sort of instant reward. His delayed reward is getting to come in when he is a good boy. A puppy with minimum prior experience of being rewarded for an annoying behavior would probably come along a lot faster. So next time you are faced with a problem like barking or scratching or jumping or anything that requires you to do something for the dog to get what he wants, just try ignoring the behavior. Keep a log and you may be surprised that you are getting results when you didn't think you were. While writing this Harley came and scratched the office door from outside, I didn't look at him and he went away! After one scratch!

The Many Faces of "Training"

I recently read this article; http://unexamineddog.com/2012/07/15/hey-have-you-heard-the-one-about-cli... and posted it to my business facebook page. It was very good timing for me because yesterday I spent about 2.5 hours at a park that has plentiful walking trails as well as a fenced in dog park. I was there hosting/teaching one of my group classes and then had a private session with a client and her reactive dog that is doing so awesome we needed to find a new location with more "eye-candy." During the time I spent at the park I noticed a lot of things in relation to dogs, that made me sad or angry. While there were a few things that made me smile, unfortunately, the bad weighed out the good. It seems I may be in a small niche of people that hone in on these things. My husband doesn't ever notice the atrocities to do with dogs and their owners that I point out to him. Once I do point things out, it usually rolls off his back as no big deal, or not his problem. However, when out with a fellow dog trainer, dog buff friend, breeder friend or dog rescuer, usually this topic comes up. What did I see that made me so upset? I saw dogs on prong collars, dogs on choke chains, dogs on flexi leads attached to choke chains! I saw a few owners walking too many dogs into the dog park and as such, unable to handle them all or supervise them all and one got in a scuffle while she was reprimanding the other for barking. I saw a man with a portly lab without a leash, bouncing and bobbing along on the path while his owner bribed him with his chuck-it ball thrower. I saw many overweight pets and pets that were overheated or stressed. The worst "error" I saw was a man with two ill behaved german shepherds running amok and barking at the park who let his 1 year old son run around in the dog park! Later, I saw the same man attach his dogs to a leash coupler and let them drag him and his son to their pick-up where the dogs rode in the back of the bed unteethered. There was some good things sprinkled in with the bad. I noticed quite a few front-clip harnesses. Most people had their dogs on 4 foot leashes (the flexis were far and in between). Nearly all the dogs were friendly and I didn't witness any full blown dog fights at the park. Another thing to add is that these dogs are out and about because their owners love them. They want to spend time and do right by their dog. I'm afraid it is that fact that makes the negatives so upsetting. It is pure misinformation that is causing these loving, well-meaning pet owners to use inappropriate walking equipment, feed their dogs too much food and use improper training techniques and judgment. Before he met me, my husband and many of my friends, did not know that certain dog training and walking equipment wasn't good for their dog. It seems many people don't. Choke chains and prong collars are not appropriate walking devices and recently, I decided that I didn't want to walk my dog on anything touching her neck. http://www.clicktreat.blogspot.com/2012/06/is-it-harmful-to-attach-aleas... is a great article to read if you need convincing about the dangers of neck walking devices. Flexi leashes are also one of those things that get under my skin. I will be honest, I own two flexi leashes! I didn't buy them myself (they were gifts) and I rarely use them. The most use they got was when my husband and I lived in a tiny apartment in Oregon and our dogs had to eliminate outside on a grass area next to our unit. It was much easier for us to have them go potty on a long line where we stood on the sidewalk rather than walk with them on the wet lawn, or into the brush or behind the dumpster. I never hooked those up to the dogs to take a real walk. I usually tell my clients the only use I can see for them is for people who don't trust their dogs off-leash and are in a potential off-leash situation (such as on a hike or at the beach). http://oldtownalexandria.patch.com/articles/theres-one-kind-of-leash-im-... is an article with some examples of how flexis are misused. The off-leash dog on the walking trail was only frustrating to me at the moment as I was working with a reactive dog who would not have been happy if the lab would have broken his bumbling ball trance and came over to us. It is one thing to have a well behaved dog heeling off-leash and under control, and quite another to have a dog that is being lured to walk with the owner. It is a respect issue as well because what if a jogger was running that had a mild fear of dogs had to pass that off-leash dog? A mother with small children in tow? Thankfully, the lab did not come charging at my client and I, though we were about 100 yards away off the path in the shade of a tree. My hope is that if enough people speak out about improper training devices and techniques, that things will finally catch fire and drown out the "noise" generated by the general public that has little knowledge of how dogs learn and what devices are appropriate. The article cited in the first paragraph mentions some of the great dog trainers and behaviorists of our time. These people (Dunbar, Donaldson, McConnell) are active in teaching seminars, working with clients, writing books, e-books. They have facebook pages, they have blogs, these people are internationally recognized and have best sellers! Why is it that more people have heard of Milan than the people that really matter? The people that are scholars, have PhDs and can back up positive dog training with science! It is heartbreaking for me at times the sheer amount of ignorance that comes with raising a dog. The literature is out there, the TRUTH is out there. People just need to seek it out! I know I can't change everybody or inform every dog owner in my town even, but perhaps someone will take the time to read this and the articles cited in this and they will change their opinion of how they treat their dog. Perhaps that person or persons will tell their mother or their best friend to not use a choke chain or maybe that person will tell a stranger at the park that throwing their dog on their back after a fight isn't teaching that dog anything. Just maybe..........maybe I can help a few dogs and people have a better relationship.

Moving

My family and I recently moved from Concord to Walnut Creek. It wasn't far, but it was a drastic change as we moved from a townhouse to a large house and combined households with my father and his senior dog. This was a new home for both our families as my father left his house as well. The way each of our dogs handled the move was polar opposites of each other! I believe that has to do with how we each prepped our dog and what we each did the day of the move etc. My dad has a very old Great Dane Lab cross. Honestly, it is a wonder this dog is alive and doing well at that! He is 13 years old and is probably close to a lean 120 lbs. This dog's head reaches my chest when he is standing relaxed. Harley absolutely adores Lucy and relies on her for comfort quite a bit unfortunately. He missed her from living with her for a year, as I took her back a few months before our big move. Harley had been living in the same home with my dad since he adopted him from the pound at 9 months old. Lucy is 9.5 years old right now and has always been a dog to roll with the punches. She has moved quite a bit in her life and is a very emotionally solid dog. The day of the move, I made the choice to take Lucy and my kids to my mother's house. We hung out in her backyard, had lunch, played with her puppies and spent the whole day there. Meanwhile my husband and father, along with the movers, were emptying out both our residences. Arriving at my dad's house, my husband tells me Harley was loose in the house as the movers loaded boxes, furniture etc. Harley is quite attached to my dad's leather couch that he uses as his giant dog bed. As soon as that couch left the house, Harley began shaking and drooling and pacing. Even with the large truck, multiple loads had to be made. Harley was left in the partially empty house with a dog bed, water and a new bone. His howls and moans could be heard down the street as they drove away to unload the truck at the new place. For the next few days as we unpacked boxes, moved furniture around and turned the house into a home, Lucy stayed on "vacation" at my mom's house. Harley was placed in our new large and amazing backyard where he scratched the screen, barked and carried on miserably. My dad kept begging me to bring Lucy back from my mom's in the hopes Harley would calm down. I waited till I felt the house was in good enough order to bring her over. I didn't want her to be stressed and as sad as it was to see Harley upset, it isn't fair to Lucy to be "used" as a comfort object at her expense. When she came over, Harley was beyond thrilled. Most of his stress dissipated when he was allowed to lounge on his couch again. For a few weeks I was training him to stay off of the couch, but my dad felt bad about it and let him on it again. Lucy showed zero stress. Furniture was in place, there were minimal boxes and all of her items were around. I believe that if a family is moving and it is possible for their dog to be somewhere else for a few days, that is the best situation to avoid moving related stress. We have been here now a little over a month and most of the "bumps" from combining households center around the dogs. As I am home most of the time, outside of training, with my two little ones, the brunt of the dog issues fall upon me. Harley's dependence on Lucy drives me a little nuts. She doesn't share the sentiment. He cannot be alone outside OR inside. While that doesn't bug me so much, his bullying tendencies do. I cannot even toss a toy for Lucy to get without him storming in and whopping her with his giant foot to take it away. If he is playing fetch, all she wants to do is herd him, which earns her a correction from Harley that is sometimes overdone on his part and needs human assistance to end it. She no longer wants to play with toys, eat a bone or tug at all since she is now associating that he will either come and take it away, or I will begin to verbally redirect him and that causes her stress. Forget about locking him inside or outside to play with her separately. That just causes him to scratch doors and bark and become destructive. With her lack of play outlets, I wouldn't say she is depressed. She is a senior dog as well, but she is now obsessing over a flower bed that probably has lizards or maybe a rodent in it. When Lucy (or any herding dog) doesn't have outlets, they tend to make their own, however strange they may be. My only solution to this issue so far has been to take her on walks and take her to training classes with me. With the kids, it is difficult to take Lucy to dog parks or hiking trails or places to play fetch. With the weather being hot, it hasn't been possible to even walk to a park with Lucy or the kids. The other problem we have had is sleeping arrangements for Lucy. Our new bedroom has hardwood flooring. Out of respect for the owners, we don't want her scratching up the floor. Prior to moving we made a choice (as did my dad) to not have dog's sleeping in our bedroom anymore due to my allergies and asthma. We had successfully moved Lex out of our room, and Lucy slept in the living room at my dad's. However, we let her sleep in our room the few months she was back at our apartment because I felt bad about it. At first, I tried getting her to stay downstairs with Harley. She was not a fan and kept coming up the stairs. Then my dad thought he would be extra nice and let her sleep in his room. She however, hates it when he coughs and he coughs a lot, so she was miserable in there and kept hiding in his adjoining bathroom. After that, we bunked her with my brother, who she loves, but she wasn't happy with that either. Tried the kid's rooms, even set up a crate downstairs in a spare room and did that for a while, but other household members kept sabotaging that. Currently, she sleeps in the carpeted hall outside our bedroom door and is happy with that. The downside is I am afraid her shifting and dog noises are waking up my 6 month old in the bedroom across from ours! I don't get much sleep as it is, with him waking up every few hours and if she is waking him as well, that just isn't going to work! I am uncertain if she is waking him, so last night I shut her in our large bathroom that is carpeted and tiled. She felt neutral about this. Moving is hard on everyone, dogs and people! I hope that we work the kinks out of things. All and all I am very happy with our move and hopefully we won't have to do it again for a while!

Re-homing a dog

I haven't posted a new blog article in quite some time. Partly because having two children (2 year old and 5 month old), keeps me very busy! I also feel that I have covered most dog training related topics via blog articles. However, my situation with my own dogs has inspired me to create a new post. How do you know when to re-home a dog and how do you make sure it all turns out for all the parties involved? Some of you may know the saga of Lex and Lucy and how drastically their lives changed when I had kids. A year ago when my daughter started crawling, Lucy made herself physically sick due to the stress. Border Collies are known for having space issues; they don't like their space invaded by dogs or people. Having the constraints of being a good dog and not being able to "correct" the baby, Lucy internalized it all. I temporarily relocated her to my dad's house. I visited her there (as he lives only 15 minutes away) and "dog-napped" her from time to time. After I had my son, I brought Lucy home for a while and she never left! I can only guess why she is alright now with the kids. Perhaps since my daughter is now two and gives her the space she needs, Lucy no longer feels stressed. Perhaps Lucy decided she would rather be home with me and kids all day than be alone at my dad's while he worked all day. Either way, she is a changed dog. She eats her food, she plays, and loves on both kids. While Lucy was gone on her "vacation," Lex remained normal until my daughter went from crawling to walking to running. Suddenly she was quick and unpredictable in her movement. We worked very hard to teach Lex to go to a quiet place when he was stressed and tried to give him more exercise and attention as well as teach our daughter to leave him be. While we were successful, things changed after my son was born. I could no longer exercise him daily as my hands were full with two little ones. We didn't have any "alone" time without kids and Lex began to spend most of his time in his quiet place. As my daughter became fascinated with role playing and taking care of baby dolls etc, she began to dote on Lex by insisting she feed him his dog food, bringing him treats, attempting to share her tippy cup with him. He was NOT comfortable with this and began to show very clear warning signals to her (showing his teeth). No matter how many times I talked to her about dog's having sharp teeth and showing her pictures of snarling dogs and even giving her time-outs when she disobeyed me and tried once again to get Lex to lick her or play with her doll, she just didn't understand the magnitude of the situation. How could she? She was 23 months old! My husband and I began talking about our fear that we didn't know how long Lex's "fuse" was before he would go from warning to biting. Lex has corrected many puppies in his life and doesn't have the most inhibited bite (as he made some of them bleed). This lack of bite inhibition scared me and even though I was managing the situation I knew something had to change. I kept thinking how sad it was that he slept away most of his days, rarely seemed happy anymore and the fear I had that he would lash out at my daughter. It is a horrible feeling to love two creatures that can't co-exist together under your current circumstances. Luckily for me I had/have a dear friend, although 500 miles away in Oregon, that had offered time and time again to take Lex for a vacation or for good. This friend however, was about to purchase a puppy, meaning my window for her taking Lex would close forever. My husband and I talked about it for a while and finally decided that even though we love our dog, we love our children more and that everyone would be happier if we re-homed Lex to my friend. A week later my friend and her husband made the long trek to come get Lex. He was a little stressed at first, but took the long ride in stride. My friend tells me that he slept on their bed the first night, and still does 3 weeks later! He plays with their Border Collie, goes to their horse barn daily to take care of the horses, goes to work with my friend (as she is a groomer) and he started playing flyball again! She can leave him un-crated in their house and he chills on the couch till she gets home. He chows his food down and barks for more. She sends me pictures and texts of what he is up to and I see more pictures on facebook each week. My heart is so happy for him! Our home is much happier as well. I didn't realize how much responsibility it was each day to make sure nothing bad happened to my toddler in reference to Lex. Lucy doesn't seemed phased that he left and is enjoying going everywhere with us. Now that she is a senior dog and slowed down, it is not a burden to take her to the park with the kids or have her with us at a family member's house. I could never take Lex to a kid's park and taking him to a family member's house was never too much fun either as some of the dogs in my family never got along well with him. Sometimes everything lines up and re-homing a dog is the wisest choice for a family. I know there are some people that hold onto dogs till the end of the dog's life (no matter what the conditions or circumstances) because they feel that they made a commitment to the dog for life. I am a believer that if someone can give your dog a better life than you can, you are not a failure for making the difficult choice to re-home the dog.

Lex's Improvements

Since I last wrote, Lex has finally found his stride in his "new life." I finally realized that today. Having spent the last few months creating a routine for him and agonizing and stressing over his stress, I came to a point that I wasn't going to put anymore energy into having all my thoughts revolving around how guilty I felt about his life having changed. I think when I stopped doing that, I stopped being so stressed and agitated around him and he stopped feeling pressure from me.

Lex is a super sensitive dog and I strongly believe that he takes on a lot of stress due to my own behavior/feelings. While some things certainly have to do with the toddler, most of his stress was probably due to my own and the pressure I put on him.

I never had to try a prescription drug (in fact, my vet couldn't get what I wanted), but I do have him on an amino acid known for calming stressed dogs called L-Theanine.

We are finally in a happy zone where he knows what to expect most days and I am seeing my happy boy again. In the morning my husband takes him out and feeds him in his crate, then he hangs out in there for a little while and will usually come out and see my daughter and I in the living room after my husband has left for work. Then he usually takes a nap when he sees we aren't doing anything all that exciting and will go back to his crate or lay down behind her rocking chair in her room. We don't have the baby gate up anymore nor do we have to shut any doors. Once my daughter goes down for her noon nap that lasts two hours, he gets super excited and runs to the door because he knows we are going out in the yard to play. We play chuck-it or kick a soccer ball around till he is tired (usually 15 minutes of non-stop play), then go back inside. He drinks water and catches his breath while I do some chores. Then I give him a bone or stuffed kong to eat while I catch up on stuff or take a nap myself, since being 35 weeks pregnant entitles me to a nap! When my daughter wakes up and has a snack and some Elmo time, he usually sits with us then quietly disappears again to come out later when my husband gets home for the night unless we take a walk, pending how cold it is. He waits by the door as soon as he hears the garage and then greets/plays with my husband, goes potty and gets fed again. Once our daughter is asleep, he comes out for playing fetch down the hall or nose work games or just long cuddle and brushing sessions. He now sleeps in the living room cuddled up in a blanket on his bed due to my allergies of him scratching and creating dander all night in our room. He has adjusted quite well to sleeping alone and our relationship is better without me shushing him and telling him to stop scratching all night.

The darkness in our happy light is that life always changes and in about a month we will have a newborn as well. My husband will be home for a few weeks from work helping and Lex may go stay with a friend, but I will have to find a whole new schedule for taking care of his needs and those of two children!

Nipping/Mouthing

I haven't written a post in a while due to lack of free time (that is what happens when you have a toddler!) and lack of inspiration. However, I have been inspired by the numerous questions from my puppy clients about nipping/mouthing behavior.

To start off, know that this behavior is a completely normal part of puppy development just as it is with baby humans that like to stick everything in their mouth! Problem is puppy teeth hurt and puppies can ingest a lot more dangerous things than human babies due to us not supervising them as well and due to their much faster growth rate.

Dogs don't have thumbs, they use their mouths for that function so to assume your puppy will just outgrow using his mouth on things he shouldn't have, is silly. We have to teach puppies/dogs what is appropriate and what is not. The behavior can't be "done away" with altogether as it is hardwired into the dog. The goal is to teach a puppy good bite inhibition and good impulse control.

Reasons why puppies mouth/nip
- Teething
- Hard wired behavior
- Exploring tastes and textures
- Playing
- Being aggressive

What NOT to do
- Grab pup's muzzle and hold shut: this will most likely cause the pup to be more aggressive with biting due to frustration or cause a shy pup to shut down and view hands as something scary.
- Yell "No biting!" (not very effective).
- Stick your hand down pup's throat: many vets have recommended this to clients of mine. I find this method cruel and unnecessary as well as teaching a dog to fear it's owner and hands.
- Hold the pup down: this is an "alpha roll" and is has been widely disproved by the positive training community to be an inappropriate method to teach a dog anything but to fear it's owner.
- Spray bitter spray in the pup's mouth: due to the fact that no one can possible grab the spray and use it fast enough makes this method not effective as the pup then has no clue why it is being punished.
- Push puppy away: this is seen as play and usually instigates more biting.

What TO do
If your pup/dog mouths or nips you in a playful way that is painful or too much in your opinion, go through the following steps in order;
1. Say "ouch!" in a high pitched voice as this is supposed to remind the dog of his litter mates and how it hurt when they bit too hard. You are trying to sound like a wounded puppy!
2. If the puppy comes right back at you, grab an appropriate toy or item and literally put it in the dogs mouth or line of vision to re-direct.
3. Coming at you again? Now it is time for a time-out. Time-outs should be no longer than 5 minutes and be in a place that is boring for the dog or puppy. A laundry room, bathroom, crate (only if there is already a positive association and crate training is well established), safe garage or patio area.
4. After time-out if puppy goes right back at it, straight back to time-out. Only go through all steps again if a significant amount of time has passed.

You only want to employee these steps when the puppy goes too far with biting. A little mouthing here and there from a 8-12 week old puppy if done gently, may be allowed as you do want to teach your dog good bite inhibition should the dog ever bite someone aggressively in the future. You can move your hand, just don't punish soft, soft mouthing. A puppy will grow out of that phase of exploring the taste of your hand.

Special Circumstances
There are times when a pup or adult dog is mouthing for a specific reason that needs to be met with a different solution. Examples may include a dog that bites at grooming devices or hands holding grooming devices, a dog that grabs pant legs of running children or a dog that bites when resources are being taken away.

If a young pup or dog is biting and mouthing when being handled for grooming, the owner has probably not counter conditioned the dog to like grooming procedures. As long as this isn't an aggression case, the best solution is to put some peanut butter on the bathtub, outside wall, fridge etc. and let the dog lick away while doing some very very light grooming and handling. You can also deliver small treats after each brush stroke or after initially presenting the brush or nail trimmers to help build a positive association with grooming.

Grabbing pant legs is usually a form of prey drive or herding. My older border collie did a lot of this as a puppy and adolescent. Best solution for me was to recognize she needed an outlet and provide her with one via re-direction to a tug toy. Of course, we practiced freeze games as well (I would freeze when she tried to herd me, then present the toy if she stopped). Getting her into dog sports curbed the behavior quite a bit as well.

A dog being mouthy at having things taken away (note: I am not talking about true resource guarding, just a bit of puppy frustration), needs to practice playing the trade-game with the owner of trading a treat or toy for the object the pup has in his mouth and eventually teaching a good drop-it cue.

Any questions about specifics? Please comment! Check out tailoreddogtraining.com if you need a session or group class to help with your puppy or dog related issues.

Lex's Week

We have been making lots of positive changes to reduce Lex's stress levels and be a happy dog again.

Sunday
Sunday I got up with my daughter while Lex slept in with my husband. Then he got taken outside, fed breakfast and I took him with me to a private training where he relaxed in his crate in the car for about 40 minutes, then he assisted with the training for about 15 minutes. This consisted of doing tricks, barking, running for thrown treats as he was acting as a distraction for the dog I was working with. After that I drove him to the dog park but had to park a few blocks away due to a 5K race going on. We walked down to the dog park and played chuck-it for about 20 minutes then walked back to the car. Then I put him in the bedroom where he slept in his crate for a bit until my husband decided to take a nap and allow Lex to cuddle with him on the bed for an hour. When they woke up, my husband got ready to go out and we took our daughter, Lex and Lucy (picked her up) to Heather Farms, a nice park with a large pond, garden, trails, play structures etc. We walked with the dogs on leash for an hour on the trails around the ponds, then let our daughter play for a bit. Lex relaxed some more in the bedroom when we got home and I put his thundershirt on. Later in the evening I had to go to another private training and needed to borrow my sister's dog, so Lex stayed home. While home, my husband got out the RC car that Lex loves to chase (we haven't gotten it out in over a year), and he held our daughter and let her watch while he chased it. Then I brought dinner home, baby went to bed, Lex hung out with us in the living room while we ate and watched a movie, then we went to bed! Good day for all!

Monday
Let Lex sleep in, took him and a pet sitting dog on a short potty walk, then fed them both and put Lex back in the bedroom for about 1.5 hours until we got dressed and ready for a trail walk. Had him heel to the trail, then let him off. He ran and ran and ran after squirrels and what-not and did auto-check-ins to me while I pushed the baby in the stroller on the trail. Walk lasted about 20 minutes. On the way back he jumped into a creek and I threw a stick for him about 10 times for him to retrieve. Since he stunk, I then had to hose him down (which he loves), when we got back. Put him on the back patio where there is an extra crate and beds and blankets, to dry off. He then came back in and hung out with us for a bit then my daughter wanted to chase him so I put up the bedroom gate and gave him a bone to chew on. After that he jumped over by himself and we played laser with him a little bit, then I put baby down for a nap. During her nap he choose to go back behind the gate and finish his bone, then come hang out with me for an hour or so. Then we went to my mom's for an earlier dinner and he played outside with her dog and enjoyed the backyard. Back home he followed us around while I cleaned up, gave the baby a bath and put her to bed. Then he hung out with us and went to bed when we did.

Tuesday
Same morning routine. Loaded him and baby up to go to my mom's while I went to work. While there he got a 20 minute leash walk while my daughter rode her tricycle on the paved trails, he played with my mom's dog, played fetch for 15 minutes, got a bully stick and had a good time. Came home and he took a nap with my husband who stayed home sick. Took an evening walk off-leash on the trail and ran into a few other dogs he ran with and another owner threw a ball for him quite a few times. Normal evening and bedtime routine.

Wednesday
Normal morning routine. Hung out with Elsie and I a bit. Picked up Lucy and took both dogs and baby to a park in Clayton where they can play fetch in a large grassy field without other dogs and after, Elsie can play at a nearby playground. Lots of walking and running! Brought Lucy back with us and gave them both bully sticks after much needed water. Gave them both hose baths when Tyler got home and had an awkward moment with a neighbor that watched me bathe them with her screaming 2 year old in tow. Both dogs were stressed about the crying, but I technically was in a community area with off-leash dogs, so I didn't feel like I could say anything. Took both clean dogs to work at Petco where they helped with a few demonstrations and got to play a little after closing. Got home late, fed him a late meal and went straight to bed.

Thursday
Normal morning stuff. Met with a friend and her BC male for a walk. They formerly hated each other, so we set out to fix that. After riding together (crated), and a little mouthing off, hot dogs and walking, they finally accepted each other. They ended up walking comfortably close to one and other, but I still would be hesitant to let them run loose with each other. Walked for at least an hour, then picked up lunch for us to-go and headed back to my place. Crated Lex and shut the bedroom door while her dog was loose. After she left, he did a lot of sniffing of our place and had renewed interest in toys that the other dog had touched! Husband got home early from a dentist appointment and Lex went to hang out with him while baby and I left for a while. Lex threw up while I was gone (maybe the hot dogs?), so we didn't do any further activity for the night.

Friday
Busy day for me and my daughter and we were gone till the afternoon. By then it was too hot to do much with Lex. He seemed happy and I didn't end up needing the baby gate till later in the evening. He chased a fly for a while, got a little obsessed with it and I had to re-direct him with a bone behind the gate. When he came out he had forgotten about the fly, that is, until my husband that had gotten home told him to "get the bug!" Picked up Lucy and took him and her to another group class I teach. He was a little stressed since it is as a vet office where he got a dental done and he still is never sure if I am leaving him there for medical treatment. I played some games with him and Lucy (treat tossing, puppy push-ups, side-by-side stays) and did some tricks then I put them in an adjacent unused room while I did a thorough cleaning of the room and then we went back to my dad's and I put his dog away so L&L could play together in his living room.

Saturday
I went to work and Tyler attempted to do good by Lex and take him on the off-leash trail we like to walk on with the stroller. However, Lex did not come back when he called him (first time ever in his life!) and continued to run up the hill looking for squirrels. It was only after my husband reached the end of the trail to turn around that Lex did a check-in and he leashed him up. He assured me he didn't yell or say anything to him since he did actually come back on his own, but he didn't want to let him off again for a repeat performance. Apparently, the rest of their day was "normal." I had another class at the vet clinic after I returned home from work and took him and Lucy. Even though I provided him with a doggie bed in the adjacent room and he seemed more relaxed upon entry, he was not himself when I brought him out for a demo. He barked at one of the students (I am assuming since it was a tall african american man with a hat and Lex has zero history with other ethnic groups), he showed his teeth at a bumbling puppy and he did his "demo" with whale eye! Lucy was a gem and totally relaxed and did everything I needed her to do happily. Took her home and then had a quiet evening with Lex and went to bed early.

Sunday
Normal morning stuff, except Lex was interested in the tug-a-jug, so I put his breakfast in there. He didn't eat it in his crate, so when the baby went down for an early nap I brought it out to the living room where he did eat it. Then we went to the zoo and Lex was home for the rest of the day alone. Bedtime routine was normal.

Lex

It seems that the problems that crop up in relation to having a toddler and dog(s) never end! You may have read the saga of Lucy and my baby that led to Lucy being relocated to my dad's house. She is very happy there and we have worked out a good system so that she is still "my dog." What ultimately led me to relocating her was that her stress levels were so high, she became physically ill. I didn't think I had to worry about Lex since he has been in love with my daughter from the day we brought her home. Apparently, things change........

Now that my daughter is a full-fledged toddler, she does things that may seem odd to a dog. Her movement is unsteady, her mood is ever changing, she wants up, she wants down. She can climb and she can throw! She also enjoys chase games and "sharing" her food. Lex has taken most things in stride. He never stressed over crying or crawling or even toy throwing. What really gets him though is when Elsie starts to follow him around. It is quite harmless really. She wants to see him, she walks up to him and he licks her and she laughs and then he gets up because he is a gentleman and moves aside to let her pass. Except she doesn't want to pass him. She wants to hang out with him. So when he walks away, she follows him. Then he gets that stressed look on his face like "what is happening?" and she thinks they are playing a a great game and is just laughing, following him around. She isn't grabbing him or actually touching him at all. My dilemma starts in how to actually deal with this.

I can't let it just go, I can see that Lex needs me to intervene since this freaks him out. When I stop her physically or verbally, she throws a mini tantrum and then my sensitive dog high-tails it to his crate as if it were all his fault! If I try to re-direct him to our newly made safe-zone, he seems confused and thinks he is being banished/punished. If I get treats out to reiterate to him that he is not being punished, he doesn't seem to make the connection and simply takes the treats and either continues to look stressed OR goes into training mode and becomes an intense obsessive border collie that had no recollection that a toddler was chasing him!

I will say, we have made a little bit of progress. My goal is that when he feels insecure, that he seeks out the "safe-zone" on his own without prompting, and comes back when he wants to. The "safe-zone" is a baby gate in our bedroom doorway. In the bedroom is his open crate. The progress I have made in the last 48 hours is that he is now coming out of the room without prompting, but I still have to tell him to go over the gate when I see he is getting stressed. He seems to have chosen the spot behind the rocking chair in Elsie's room as his second "crate" which isn't what I want, since I am not going to gate my daughter out of her room. At least he is choosing to leave completely rather than just walking in circles and then I can intervene and redirect the baby.

It makes me a bit sad. Here I was naively thinking my toddler and dog were the best of friends, but in reality I don't think it is possible for a dog and toddler to be friends! To co-exist, yes, but to actually have a relationship in which both parties benefit, no. I have successfully taught her to be gentle, to not share her food, to not throw things, to be sweet to him and now I have to teach her to basically ignore him. This will not be an easy task! I will not re-home Lex. With Lucy, the cards just fell into place and her issue was much more severe. It is times like these that I think if I were not a dog trainer, I wouldn't even notice that he was displaying stress signals. How wonderful it must be to be ignorant of such things! Thankfully I am aware though, because I can prevent a potential bite to my child and keep my dog happy.

Training Mechanics

There are plenty of people out there that never seek out professional training for their dog. Perhaps they have an "easy" dog, or maybe an older rescue with no issues, but I have a feeling that most people that don't at least take a basic obedience class with their dog, refuse to do so because they think they can do it themselves just fine at home. While I am not denying that there are those out there with wonderfully trained dogs that did it all themselves at home, I see many "home-trained" dogs that aren't very well behaved. The owners missed out what is really taught in classes; training mechanics.

Training class really isn't about how many things we can teach your dog to do, it is about teaching owners how to be effective teachers! There are plenty of bonuses that come with attending a group class; socialization to people, dogs and a new environment, learning new things, bonding, motivation to practice etc.

I can take a dog that isn't listening to his owner and get him to perform a new or known command for me. I know where to place my lure, when to be quiet and when to speak up, when to praise and when to redirect. My goal is to teach the owner to do all these things that come naturally to me from training so many dogs. This is why board and train does not work except for very specific circumstances!

Biggest training faux pas:
1. Repeating the command over and over.
2. Commanding the dog when she doesn't actually know the command.
3. Luring incorrectly.
4. Forcing the dog physically to perform the command.
5. Towering over the dog menacingly.
6. Using a harsh tone.
7. Not rewarding enough.
8. Not using a high enough value reward.
9. Expecting the dog to preform at too high a distraction level.
10. Giving mixed signals physically or verbally.

With that being said, how would I go about teaching a novice dog to sit?

Sit: novice dog would be on a 4 foot leash and I would be stepping on the very end of the leash. That way my hands are free and the dog isn't going anywhere, but isn't glued to me unable to move. In a class situation, I would be at least 6 feet away from other dogs, perhaps further, maybe even behind a visual barrier if novice dog was too distracted. I would have something very very yummy, like natural balance food roll in my treat bag and take a pea sized chunk and slowly place it almost on novice dog's nose while simultaneously moving it backwards toward his tail. If I move slowly enough and keep his interest, his bottom will touch the floor and I will say "good sit!" and pop the treat into his mouth. I am not commanding him to sit, nor am I pushing him or moving the food too fast or dancing it out of his reach. After doing this a few more times, if he is keen on it, I can start telling him to sit when it is highly likely he will do it and I can start introducing a hand signal and omit the lure and start giving him only hidden rewards. If he gets confused, I will go back a step and help him. After about 10 reps, he would probably need a break and we would move onto another exercise. If I was to use a clicker, the process would be slightly different, as I would mark his bottom touching the ground with a click versus a word marker "good" or "yes."

For a dog that already knows how to sit, but does not do so without multiple commands or help or forcing on the owner's part, the mechanics would look a little different.

I would tell average dog to sit and assuming he does not, I would get out a yummy morsel and show it to him, then ask him again. If he immediately sits, he would get the treat. That scenario tells me that average dog does not understand how to do a command without seeing the reward first and he needs some "fake-outs." Meaning I will show him a treat, tell him to sit, he sits, he gets it. Next rep I pretend I have a treat in my hand, he sits, he gets a hidden treat, and I go back and forth between fake-out treat and real treat until I am doing more fake-outs than real and eventually showing him my hands are empty and asking him to sit. After so many positive reps, he should sit with seeing empty hands and I will give him a big jack-pot of hidden treats! The trick with this is to not now go to empty hands all the time, but switch between visual treat and empty hands and slowly the dog will start to do a command without seeing a reward. It is also helpful to use life-rewards with a dog that does this. My post on Value is very helpful when it comes to this problem.

If average dog will sit without a treat but only on the second command and does so slowly, then a game is in order! I tell average dog to sit, he does not, I show him what morsel he missed out on and walk away for a second and come back. I tell him to sit again, he does. Jack-pot! Then we run around together and I stop, ask for a sit and if it is quick, he gets a goody, and if it is slow, I walk away and we try again. I am only rewarding what I want; quick sits on the first command and I am ignoring what I don't want and showing him that he missed out. Hopefully what I have is exciting enough that he wants to work for it.

If average dog will only sit if pushed into a sit, then he never was taught properly and must go through the novice dog steps.

Command Rules

1. Only say a command 2 times!
2. After the second time, help your dog! This means going back to baby steps and most likely luring your dog.
3. Assess if what your asking is too much.
4. Assess if your dog cannot preform due to too high a distraction.
5. Make sure you are using an even, nice tone of voice and aren't yelling at your dog.

Do you have a specific question on how to teach or clean up a certain command? Comments are always welcome! I teach classes and offer privates in the East Bay area of California.

New Dog/Puppy

It doesn't matter if you are bringing home a brand new puppy or an adult dog, there are things that you will need to buy! I have to say that I find shopping for pet supplies super fun and unfortunately in the past, slightly addicting. However, buying baby supplies is even more fun and addicting so I guess I traded a habit for a habit!

The following is a general list that applies to every breed, size or age of dog in respect to the supplies you will need;
1. High quality food (read my post titled "Feeding your Dog" for more info on choosing a food).
2. 1 food dish (stainless steal or ceramic as plastic can harbor bacteria and be chewed).
3. 1 water dish of same material, yet slightly larger.
4. Crate (see "Crate Training" for more info on choosing a crate and using one properly).
5. Toys (choose only a few toys of various textures. I prefer a kong toy, a rope, a high quality plush and a ball to start with).
6. Bones/chews (see post "Bones" for more info).
7. Basic nylon or leather collar and 4 foot leash (hold off on pulling devices or read "Does your Dog Pull?").
8. Stain remover (you will need this no matter what! I love Simple Solution brand by far over the others).
9. ID tag for collar.
10. High quality shampoo (see "Grooming" for more info).

There are some things you can hold off on for a while or all together;
1. Poop bags: if you live in an apartment, this may be essential or you may find that you can use accumulated grocery bags or grab a few bags every time you pass a public dispenser.
2. Pooper scooper: really only helpful if you have a large yard and don't want to use a shovel or bags to pick-up.
3. Place mats for under food: I have never found these helpful, but my dogs aren't super messy.
4. Bed: only get a dog bed for the crate or outside the crate if you dog is not a chewer and is OVER a year old. Puppies will destroy beds and not only will you lose money, you could have a sick pup on your hands if he digested any stuffing and possibly need an expensive surgery.
5. Treats: get treats once you have committed to training so you aren't doling them out for "free." (see blog post "rewards" for ideas of proper treats).
6. Food bins: super helpful, there are not a must-have and are spendy. I have two myself and now after years, am not using them! I find my dog is picky and prefers to switch flavors often so I can't buy big economical bags anymore.
7. Flexi-leash: a lot of owners see these extendable leashes as must-haves, but honestly, they teach dogs to pull and are super dangerous in the hands of untrained dogs and untrained owners. I only use mine in open space areas when I cannot let my dogs loose and they need more freedom than a 4 foot lead allows.
8. Brush and nail trimmers: while you will need these later, most puppies don't start shedding till they get their adult coat and some owners may want to get the pup or dog professionally groomed and never deal with it at home. I do advise all owners to pet a new pup, put fingers in her mouth, touch her paws, play with her ears softly and generally desensitize her to grooming procedures.
9. Flea treatment: these have been marketed to us as preventatives but really should be used as treatments as we are now creating super bugs that are immune to the chemicals in these products due to consumer over-use.
10. Pens or gates: buy if needed for potty training and confinement.

You will want to make sure that you purchase all these things BEFORE you bring your new pet home because it is super stressful for a new dog to be drug into a pet store while you attempt to shop! Have the crate set-up in your main living space or bedroom (if you only bought one crate, you will probably be moving it back and forth for a while from living room to bedroom at night). Have the water bowl down where you would like it be and have all the gear put away and have a few toys out for your new friend.

For a new puppy: it is advisable to bring your pup straight home from the breeder/shelter/wherever and not make any stops to visit doting friends. Place your puppy in your backyard or front yard to eliminate before going inside then give him a tour of the house. Let him sniff his new home, but be close behind. If you have a slightly older puppy, you will probably want to have him on leash so he doesn't go terroring off in the house. Once he has explored his new digs you should assess his activity level. Does he need a nap? Is he frisky and wanting to play? Did he eat already today? Oblige with whatever he needs, but be sure to not leave him loose and make sure you start the crate training right away!

For a new dog: bring your new dog straight home as well, however, your new dog will have had all his shots and may want a little walk around the block to pee and get acquainted with new smells (provided the dog is not a fearful one). Once you bring your new dog in (on leash), let him explore the place and evaluate his needs. Start the crate training right away and don't be lax on your house rules because this is his first day. If you don't want him on the couch and he jumps on it, be sure to lure him off of it right away. If he starts going through the bathroom garbage, shut the door and redirect him to his toys. If he starts destroying your backyard, bring him in and make a mental note what you need to do to dog-proof your yard!

The next few days you will need to go about business as usual. I don't recommend anyone take excess time off when getting a new pet because we don't want to set-up any separation anxiety. After the first few days, consider starting training with a trainer either in your home or via a group class. If you are local (in the SF Bay Area), check out the training I offer, located on the "training" page at http://www.tailoreddogtraining.com/

Living with dogs

As many of you may know, my mom runs a dog rescue group. She frequently gets update e-mails from adoptive owners and sends them to me as I am also involved in the rescue helping to find the dog's homes. A recent line in an e-mail stuck out to me. The new owner stated that the adopted dog was, "made to learn and not taught to learn," and that she hoped with time, the dog would become more "care-free" like her other dog and not obey commands immediately and have to be asked a few times, as the owner thought having to be asked multiple times was a sign that the dog was choosing to do as he/she pleased, and thus a sign of a happy dog that has choices.

Of course, as a trainer, I was slightly flabbergasted that someone would WANT their dogs to have to be told multiple times to take a command! However, everyone has a different standard to which they hold their dogs and how they choose to live with their dogs.

I find that training classes are not mutually exclusive to good dog house manners. This is due to the fact that how a dog acts in a group class is very different on how he acts at home. Owners also have a hard time transferring "commands" to "everyday living" with their dog. Everyone's lifestyle is different and what I do at home, may not work with another owner's schedule or their dog's personality.

Pre-baby, when I had both Lex and Lucy as adults in Oregon, we had two types of days; the days I worked and the days I didn't. I want to illustrate the commands used each and every day with my dogs and the house rules they abide by.
Work Days
- Get up early, take dogs out to potty (Wait and Release at the door).
- Feed dogs (Sit, Stay, Release for dish).
- Get ready for work while they hang out and play with each other and toys.
- Take them out again (Wait and Release at the door).
- Go to work and leave them loose, as this is an example of them as adult dogs.
- Come home after an 8-9 hour shift and take them out (Wait and Release at the door).
- Play with them one-one while one dog stays (Stays, Go-to Mat, Leave-its, Fetching, Dropping objects).
- Have them hang out while I unwind and clean or prepare dinner.
- Feed them dinner (Sit, Stay, Release for dish).
- Have them stay on their bed while we eat (Duration Stay, Go-to Mat).
- Relax with a show or internet time while dogs lay around or play fetch.
- Out before bed  (Wait and Release at the door).
- Bedtime.

Non-Work Days
- All morning activities and house activities similar.
- Go do an activity such as herding, agility, flyball, hike, dog park, long walk, swimming etc.
- While on leash: Heels, Release, Steady commands.
- All activities warrant special commands.
- Load-up and Wait and Release to get in and out of car crates.
- Leave-its and Watches when passing dogs or distractions.

Now that I have a child and Lucy is at my father's house, our days look quite different.

Lex
- Wait and Release at top of steps to go potty.
- Go-To Crate for feeding.
- Practice lots and lots of leave-its as the toddler tries to feed Lex her food or give him her toys!
- Absentmindedly play fetch throughout the day (Drop, Bring).
- Up and Off the couch when told.
- Heel, Release, Steady on walks, especially essential with a stroller!
- Trick time when baby is sleeping.
- Manners around the baby all day, and manners when out and about.

The idea is that training really is all the time. My dog(s) are no longer learning new obedience skills, but I do teach them new tricks and it is essential that their obedience skills are fresh not only because it makes living with them more of a joy, but because it makes having a toddler around a dog not a big issue. Just imagine if Lex stole food, ate baby toys, wasn't fully potty trained and couldn't be trusted off leash to go potty. His life would consist of being separate from the rest of the family, most likely crated or my child would have no toys or food! It would also be a huge chore to take him out potty on leash (we have no fence) with a toddler in tow and have to watch him like a hawk to be sure he didn't eliminate inside.

The general house rules I have, both dogs abide by with no issues.
1. No jumping on furniture or people unless told "up."
2. Get off furniture or people promptly when told "off."
3. Do not take food laying on the floor, or coffee table or any accessible area unless told "hover."
4. If offered food and told "leave-it," do not eat it!
5. Do not chew toys that aren't yours.
6. Don't de-stuff your toys, if you want to chew, grab a nylabone or bone.
7. If the front door is open, do not go through it unless told "release."
8. Sit is a polite way to say "please" for anything you want.
9. Stop barking when told "quiet."
10. Don't eliminate in the house.
11. Don't herd moving babies or people or animals (unless told to!).
12. Don't go in the kitchen.

To me, those sound pretty normal, but I am constantly surprised by pet sitting doggies that don't abide by nearly any of those rules!

If you feel like your dog(s) need help either learning essential commands, or actually learning house manners, please contact me. I offer group classes as well as private sessions. www.tailoreddogtraining.com

Training Breakthroughs

I love training breakthroughs, especially when I have been working on a very difficult trick with my dog and we finally have reached the next step of the trick. It is so awesome to see those "light bulb" moments with dogs in class as well that are struggling with doing a complete down or getting into heel position. For a few weeks I have had my mind set on teaching Lex and Lucy (but more Lex) to high-step. At first I was completely perplexed on how to teach this, but got a few pointers from a friend that taught a freestyle
introduction seminar (see the post called Freestyle).

I started very sloppily with Lex trying to do a "wave" in a standing position, but he associated that cue with sitting, so he would sit each time I asked for a "wave." Then I cued him to stand and gave him a hand signal for high-five, which he did. So began the long road to the high-step!

I had to slowly phase my hand away so he was lifting his front leg and not slapping my hand, then put a cue to it for the one leg and start the process over for the other front leg.

As of this morning, his right leg was on a verbal cue, lift, and a hand-signal and his left leg still needed an assisted hand-signal that I wasn't going to continue to use AND I had to reward for each leg lift and couldn't string the two together.

Then came our breakthrough! With the help of one of his favorite foods, cheese, I got him to do "lift" and "other" in succession and only treated after he lifted both legs once. That is major progress because the next step is to get him to do a few reps of one leg at a time and put those reps on one cue like, "march" or "prance." Then I will need to get him to actually do the leg lifts while moving forward! I hope that once he gets good at them in place, the movement will come naturally. If not, then I will have to do some brain storming!

In the end, I will have 4 different brand new tricks. I will have each leg lift on a cue (already accomplished) and a stand in place march and a walking high-step.

Yes, trainers teach their dogs weird things lol.

Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks

Recently, I have had a handful of older dogs sign up for classes. By older, I mean over 10 years. This is quite new for me, as I have never had people interested in taking classes with their senior dog. While I commend the owners for seeking higher learning for their aging dogs, I don't think training is for all elderly dogs.

One of the dogs is a 10 year old small breed rescue that prior to class, knew zero obedience commands. His owner sought classes because she felt that even though he is a great dog, she would like him to know how to sit, come when called and walk nicely on a leash etc. Poor little guy has had a few road blocks that have made training more difficult. The biggest challenge is his allergies. His owner doesn't know what he is allergic to and he is on a strict diet which really limits what treats he can have. Unfortunately, the approved treats aren't to his liking and he rarely will eat them while in class. Another road block is that he has never had any prior training for 10 years! That is quite a long time to go without challenging the brain to learn something new. While I am sure he learned about his world and socialization etc, learning in a more structured way can be frustrating to some dogs that have never had to do a command when asked. Great thing is that he has been learning. He will be done with his 6 weeks next week and can now sit, stay, come, leave-it and is much better on the leash as well as interacting with other dogs. His progress was much slower than a younger dog as we had to utilize a training method called capturing, rather than relying on lure and reward. There were times I felt guilty that he wasn't progressing like the other dogs in class, though I never felt his owner held it against him. I had to frequently remind myself that his progress will be slower. Thank goodness I had this experience with him, because just last night another, even older dog, signed up for classes!

Dog #2 is an 11 year old maltese mix who has been with her owner since 8 weeks old, but never has had any training. The owner sought training due to some new behavior problems that surfaced from a stressful move (potty training issues, separation anxiety), and hoped that she could get some answers to her issues by signing up for a class. I gave her some guidance on her two top issues and we dove in with teaching her some obedience commands. Surprisingly, the dog picked up the new commands right away! She was thrilled to be learning and seemed to soak it all in like a sponge. The owner was likewise, surprised and so proud of her little old dog.

I realize that my own dog, Lucy, falls into the senior dog category. She will be 9 in December. She enjoys learning new things and learns at an insanely fast rate. I think a life-time of training has helped her love using her mind and even as she ages more, she will only be limited by her body.

When I remember Lucy's age, I feel slightly guilty about judging old dogs learning new tricks. Older dogs CAN learn new things and their past, their breed and their owner's skill level, are all going to be factors in how fast they learn and how well.

However, there are still some cases where an older dog shouldn't be subjected to training class. Thankfully I have only had to talk one person out of training class that fits this category. If your senior dog has trouble hearing or seeing, a class in a new environment probably isn't a good idea. If your elderly dog can't get around well or has medical issues, a class isn't a good idea. If your aging dog rarely leaves the house, is grouchy towards other dogs and strange people, he would be much happier at home. Teach him some new things within his comfort zone and take it slow. After all, it has been said that humans who keep their minds active live longer, so why not our dogs?

Positive Training All the Way!

I just read an article written by a fellow dog trainer with a call to arms to certify dog training and finally cast out those dominance based trainers and those who recommend them. http://www.michaelbaugh.com/?p=248

I fully applaud him for doing this. Happily, it seems that positive training is on the rise and I don't have to give the "please don't watch Ceasar Milan" speech nearly as much anymore. The handful of traditional trainers in my area attract a different category of people. Generally older people that have trained that way for a long time and are not open to change, people that I probably don't want to take on as clients that will challenge positive dog training and be closed to trying it.

While I am a proud preacher of positive training, there are people that have their heels so dug in, it is better not to stress myself with pushing them to change. The clients that have felt this way inevitably drop out of class and keep to their medieval ways. I honestly feel bad for their dogs.

Traditional trainers and those who seek them out aside, one of the truly sad things Michael mentions in his article is the animal advocates that recommend this type of training. I have seen far too many animal rescue groups suggest traditional trainers and insist that their dogs need a hard hand or need a leader to teach them respect. These are the same people that have rescued dogs from abusive or neglectful homes. These people have an intense love for dogs and doing right by them, yet they place choke chains on their neck and basically abuse them in the name of training.

I have heard of veterinarians, animal communicators, groomers etc also recommend traditional training from what I assume to be a misunderstanding of current dog training standards! Dog owners trust these professionals for advice and I am sure a great many are lead down the wrong path from seeking out the wrong trainer or methods.

Even those who choose not to use a trainer have ready access to traditional training books, videos, online literature etc. It is quite sickening and sad to think of all the dogs being mistreated in the name of training by well meaning owners and animal advocates that are simply misinformed.

I apologize for the rant, but this article really struck a chord for me. I hope people become more educated about training and realize the impact traditional training has on dogs and the bond they have with their owner.

If you would like to know more about the differences of positive training versus traditional, without the moral issue thrown in, take a look at my post titled, "Value." It has a basic definition of each with the differences.

Begging

One of the topic requests I got recently was about dogs begging for food at the table. This has been a contentious issue in my household between my husband and I for a long time!

Begging is a learned behavior. Dogs beg only because we have shown them that it works. They look cute and linger about the table, and we feed them scraps. Funny to think how that is a major factor that played into dog domestication. Dogs lingered at the edges of villages/camps and scavenged for the leftovers. Humans learned that the dogs didn't pose much of a threat and actually offered protection and soon the dogs got more brave and came closer and closer to the humans and eventually became domesticated animals (in a nutshell).

I don't mind begging. Honestly, I think it is cute. My husband doesn't think it is so cute. I love it when Lucy puts her head on my lap and gazes up at me for a tidbit of my dinner and he doesn't even want a dog to look in his direction from across the room when he is eating!

Beggars can be reformed. There are a ton of options. First you can use the extinction method. Basically ignore your dog and don't give them anymore scraps. She will try harder at first (extinction burst), and then the behavior will slowly disappear. This method doesn't work for me. I may be able to resist feeding them when my husband is home, but I don't when he is not around and by intermittently rewarding, I made the begging behavior stronger!

The next method is you can teach the dog to do a behavior incompatible with begging (this is what we do). Teach your dog that he should be on his dog bed when you eat or laying down in another room. This method takes time because it is actually a duration stay with a food distraction.

You can also use simple management and crate your dog or relocate your dog to another room when food is being served to avoid begging. If we were to have a dinner party someday, I probably would relocate the dogs so I didn't have to wonder if they were holding their down-stay.

The last method is the one I hate the most, and the one my husband prefers to use. He taught the dogs (mainly Lucy) that the word "beggar" and a lifted fork is an aversive. When he says "beggar" in a "you are a naughty dog" tone, she slinks off. Same goes for if he points his fork at her. I personally hate this because I can see that it makes Lucy uncomfortable and it really doesn't work for long. She eventually sneaks back over to try again for a morsel. I suppose I don't have to worry about this anymore since Lucy is at my dad's and thankfully, he uses the down-stay method for Lucy and his dog, Harley. That is, when he cares that they are begging!

Bottom line is that begging is either something that bugs you, or something that doesn't. Unfortunately, if your household is split on this it can be hard on the dog receiving mixed signals. The best thing to do is work on a good down-stay so it can be used when the person who hates begging is around.

Freestyle

Last Thursday I was lucky enough to attend a meeting with a group I was invited to join, the East Bay Dog Trainers. The group is invite only and consists of positive trainers that train in the East Bay. While only a few were able to attend that meeting, it was great to meet some inspiring trainers.

The group decided to do something new to them and have group members teach a special training topic that not all of us may be aware of. The topic of that meeting was canine freestyle AKA doggie dancing.

I will admit, in the past I have been on the fence about freestyle. Half captivated and half embarrassed for the people, I never gave freestyle a chance. At one point I almost signed up Lucy and I for a class in Oregon with the express interest of teaching her the "moves" but not linking it to music, and certainly not dancing with her. Turns out there is a lot more to freestyle than fancy tricks and dancing around with your dog.

What I learned
Freestyle isn't about trick after trick, it is about moving with your dog and transitions (which are the tricks) and then more movement. The dogs that do freestyle are very well trained in heeling/moving with their owners and seem to heartily enjoy the sport and the attention that comes with it. Freestyle is about the bond between the owner and the dog. Watching freestyle done correctly, is like sneaking a peak on a private moment between owner and dog.

I also learned that music isn't randomly picked. The music should actually fit the dog's natural gait and movement. We did a little exercise of heeling/moving in a circle for each dog and handler while someone played a variety of music snippets until there was this "ah-ha" moment that that song was MEANT for that dog. Lucy's song was a lively Celtic song with a fast tempo almost difficult for me to keep up with! Then again, that has been the theme of every dog sport I do with Lucy. Her flying through agility courses while I struggle to spit out the next obstacle and her nearly pulling my arm off tugging during flyball, so much in fact that while pregnant with Elsie, I had to have someone else handle Lucy during flyball while I continued to handle Lex well up till my 8th month! For Lex, the music was a bit slower with less high notes and a more deep, powerful tone with some fun flares here and there. I have to say, that describes Lex. He can be very serious when working and is a very well grounded dog and powerful for sure when confident. There is also a goofy, silly side of Lex that periodically makes an appearance, depending on his mood.

The other thing that we learned was that handlers doing freestyle don't just walk about the ring in circles, they have a pattern in mind they are walking and it is really easy to pick a letter of the alphabet as your pattern to walk and do multiple letters for longer routines.

What is the point?
So what is the point of freestyle? It is another activity to do with your dog, but unlike agility, flyball, dock diving etc. the dog doesn't really need to be that athletic. With Lucy having been retired from hard sports, freestyle is a really good option for her. It can keep an older dog's mind and body fit without all the stress. Another great thing about freestyle is that YOU don't have to be athletic! In fact, there are several different organizations that put on the freestyle competitions and while one is focused on the owner fully participating in the dance, the other puts the focus on the dog, meaning you don't have to even be on the beat, just be helping and cuing your dog. I wish the lady I would have talked to about this years ago would have mentioned that to me! Freestyle is also wonderfully positive. Some obedience and rally competitors (another sport for the less athletic dogs and humans), use traditional training and can suck the fun out of the event. Not saying all are like that, but that is the core reason I have stayed away from obedience competitions.

Cool Stuff to Teach
After watching some freestyle videos and seeing a mini live performance by our presenter, I am once again fueled to teach my dogs some new things. Since Lucy doesn't live her anymore, that means my primary focus is on Lex. This is so great because Lucy has always been my go-to trick dog and even though I have taught Lex many of the same tricks, I always got frustrated with his different learning style and would abandon some tricks. I have learned that Lex is quite awesome at learning new things as long as I don't push him too fast and keep a level head. For some it may seem silly that I had to get inspired to teach something new, but honestly, my dogs know so many complex behaviors and tricks that I run out of ideas! Aside from all the obedience commands, I have taught my dogs to spin, roll-over, high-five, wave, dance on hind legs, open and close doors and drawers, blow bubbles in their water dish, open a suitcase and lay down and let it close, fetching specific objects, nose targeting, "talking," walking backwards, the list goes on.

The newest thing that I am working on with great results is a high step. Basically I want Lex to literally "march" and lift his front legs high like a high-stepping horse would. At first, I was very experimental in figuring out how the heck to teach this! There is nothing online or on youtube with any tips. I tried setting up obstacles for him to lift his legs over but he either walked normal, or jumped over it if I increased the height. Then I tried having him to walking high-fives. That worked, but it was only one paw and very exaggerated and my hand needed to be there. I actually e-mailed the presenter on tips for this behavior and turns out I guess right, that doing the high-five is a way to teach it, but of course, I had moved to fast (something I tend to have issues with training my own dogs). So I took a step back and have focused on getting either paw while he is in a stand. I had to start with my hand lowered and after 3 days of 1-2 short (meaning 5 minutes) sessions per day, he can now lift his right paw on cue (I say "lift") without me touching him. I created a hand signal that he will do it for as well. The left paw still needs more help, but that is fine. Once I get the left, my goal is to have him alternate them in a stand, then put it into motion. All of this was done with clicker training, so if you haven't tried clicker training, please do.

Potty Training

There are many different ways to potty train a puppy/dog. However, no matter what method you choose, having your puppy on a schedule, feeding your puppy a nutritious food and supervising your puppy are three very important aspects of successful potty training.

Schedule

Dogs thrive on schedules! Your puppy/dog will need to go potty after sleeping, after meals and for young puppies, after play as well. What goes in on a schedule, will come out on a schedule, so keep meal times consistent. Dogs should eat 2x per day, and puppies under 6 month or small breed dogs can eat 3x per day. For a dog new to potty training, the water dish should be put away an hour or so before the last potty break before bed.

Sample schedule

- 7am: take puppy out

- 7-7:30am: puppy hangs out with you while you get ready for the day

- 7:30am: puppy gets breakfast then taken out for #2

- Put puppy in crate/pen while you leave for work/school/errands

- Get home, let puppy out, feed lunch

- Go back to work/school errands

- Get home, let puppy out

- Play time

- Puppy nap

- Walk (with potty break)

- Puppy nap

- Potty break

- Obedience training

- 7:30pm: dinner

- Potty break

- Playtime

- Last potty break

- Bedtime

Pretty monotonous, but dogs that are new to potty training need frequent opportunities to go out. How long can your puppy hold it? The rule of thumb is months old=hours able to hold it (double that number for at night [up to 8 hours]). Puppy is 8 weeks old? Then he can only “hold it” for about 2 hours tops during the day and 4 hours during the night.

Food

If your dog is on a nutritious food without fillers and extra fiber, he should have a bowel movement about 2x per day. A dog on a mediocre food full of fiber and indigestible fillers will poop up to 4x per day! This makes potty training a lot more difficult. There are many foods to choose from at Petco (Avoderm, Merrick, Castor and Pollux, Blue Buffalo, Wellness). Be sure to measure your food carefully as to not over-feed your dog. Follow the feeding guidelines on the bag plus/minus a little depending on your dog’s energy needs.

Supervision

Puppies need constant supervision (up till about a year depending on breed and destructiveness). Adult dogs that are not potty trained also need supervision to ensure they don’t have an accident. To keep your dog within view you can utilize baby gates, close off doors or use the “umbilical cord” method and use a leash clipped to the dog clipped to your belt loop or wrapped around furniture and eventually just drug around by the dog. When you can’t supervise your dog, he should be in a crate, pen or dog proofed yard/garage. I personally recommend crate training and utilizing pens. Most garages are not insulated and have hazardous chemicals in them. Leaving a dog unattended in a yard can lead to nuisance barking, hole digging, deck eating and sometimes even tragic endings when dogs escape or when malicious neighbors poison dogs.

Use the “rule of thumb” for how long your puppy can hold it to gage how long to leave him in the crate. Any time over that threshold means puppy goes in the pen with a *potty pad, toy, chew and crate attached to the pen.

Miscellaneous

If your dog has an accident it is important to clean it up with an enzyme based cleaner. Never punish a dog for having an accident in the house. This can lead to submissive urination, hiding their elimination, such as pottying behind furniture, and other fear problems. If you catch your dog in the act having an accident, you may clap loudly to startle him and scoop him up (if applicable) and rush outside so he can finish his business. In order to make going outside a positive experience you can couple pottying with treats or just use praise and a key potty word.

*A note about potty pads: while these are great if you need your puppy to be penned while at work, do not use these as a primary potty training area when you are home. Dogs that always use a potty pad do not learn to “hold it” or how to “tell” their owner they need to go as the pad is always accessible. The pad can also confuse a dog that going on discarded towels and clothes and even rugs is the same thing as a potty pad. As soon as my dog can "hold it" for the time period I am gone, or starts to eat the potty pads, I stop using them.

FAQ's

Q: "Can I just use a dog door?" A: No, because dog doors do not train your dog to use your yard as a potty space. Perhaps later when the dog is trained, you can use a dog door for convenience, but most situations where a dog door was used as a potty training method have failed miserably. The puppy/dog goes to the bathroom in and outside and is not getting proper praise for going outside. The other complication of a dog door is having your dog bring in foliage, trash and tracking in mud without you being there to clean him up before coming in.

Q: "Can I use a litter box?" A: Yes, you can successfully train a dog to use a litter box, but you will still need to employ all of the above recommendations and literally pen the dog with the litter box until she is successfully using it 100% of the time before allowing the dog more access to the home to ensure she will make the trek back to the litter box when she has to go.

Q: "When can my puppy have free access to my house?" A: Depends on your puppy. For most, around 6-7 months your puppy will no longer have accidents (if he is potty trained!) and be allowed to be supervised less while you are home. However, we can't forget about other things puppies do when unattended, such as chewing and destroying things. Even small non-destructive dogs can find a bit of floss or string and play with it/swallow it and need vet care.

Do you have specific questions pertaining to your situation? Comment or contact me. I do provide e-mail consults for a fee of $30 an hour if you don't need a private in home session for something like potty training troubles.

Check out my post on Crate Training for information on how to implement that.